Fenwick "Fen" How

Over the years, younger adults have found their way to my table: sons and daughters of friends, young colleagues, people at the start of something. The questions were almost always the same. What am I good at? What should I do? How do I know it's the right choice?

I noticed that the most helpful thing I could offer wasn't an answer. It was better questions, an honest outside perspective, and a structure for thinking things through. The Becoming Project is that structure, built so every young person who comes through it leaves understanding themselves better than when they arrived.

I started my career in emergency medicine as a paramedic and district supervisor, then taught at Houston Community College, where I trained thousands of Houston firefighters and paramedics. That's where I first learned how much a good mentor can change someone's trajectory.

From there I built businesses. As founder and CEO of Trifield Exploration & Production, I grew a company managing more than 500,000 mineral acres and led over $2.5 billion in acquisitions and divestitures. I later served as Senior Vice President at Navasota Energy, supporting more than 22,000 MW of power generation. Today I co-lead Circon Energy's international renewable projects, roughly $2.8 billion in development, along with Celerity Energy Advisors and The Aperture Method.

Running businesses at that scale teaches you how real decisions get made: with incomplete information, real tradeoffs, and consequences you have to own. I want young people to learn that skill early, in a setting where they're supported.

I've built AI, GIS, and business-intelligence platforms, I lead technology as a CIO in aerospace and defense, and through The Aperture Method I work inside companies as they decide where AI fits. I see firsthand how quickly roles are being redesigned, and which kinds of work are holding their value.

That's why the first question many families ask me now is, “What should my student choose that's AI-proof?” The honest answer is that nothing is completely AI-proof, but some paths are far more resilient than others: work that's hands-on, built on trust, carries real accountability, or builds and directs AI itself. Helping young people choose those paths with clear eyes, before they invest years and tuition, is at the heart of The Becoming Project.

Today I lead The Aperture Method, a founder-led firm that gives owner-run businesses, many of them family-owned, the same analytics, AI, and strategic rigor that large companies take for granted. The core idea is the same one behind The Becoming Project: look closer, see clearly, and then decide well.

Through Aperture Business Lab, I visit schools across the region and lead a free guest-speaker session for students in grades 8–12. Students work through a real business and figure out what's holding it back. Watching young people light up when they realize they can think like problem-solvers is a big part of why The Becoming Project exists.

I earned my B.S.B.A. in Project Management, graduating summa cum laude, and hold a Six Sigma Green Belt. I'm now pursuing an Executive MBA at Texas A&M University's Mays Business School. I believe becoming doesn't stop at any age, and I try to model that for the students I mentor.

Personality can open doors, but character gives you the strength to navigate what comes next. Integrity, humility, accountability, discipline, curiosity, and compassion shape a life at least as much as talent does.

My faith is an important part of who I am and informs how I think about character and purpose. I respect that every family is different. The Becoming Project welcomes students of every background and belief, and faith-based reflections are offered only when a family asks for them.

I treat every engagement personally. Parents are partners from the first conversation. Students own their own decisions. Everything a student shares, from assessment results to reflections and plans, is kept confidential and used only to help them.